The 31st annual North Carolina Paramedic Competition will take place Sunday, April 30, at the Joseph S. Koury Convention Center, pitting the 2022 state champs from Mecklenburg EMS against five teams that clinched the right to challenge them during regional championships last summer.
The regional champions teams include FirstHealth Chatham, Guilford County EMS, Iredell County EMS, Pender EMS and Fire, and Rowan County Emergency Services. These teams each won their respective regional competitions held in March in Brunswick, Catawba, Cumberland, Johnston and Surry counties.
The competition brings each team out of sequestration and into a ballroom set up with bleachers full of their peers, and a scenario that is a closely guarded secret. It is part of the 48th annual N.C. Emergency Medical Services Expo, which runs from Friday, April 28 through Wednesday, May 3.
The scenario each team will face is designed by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Office of Emergency Medical Services staff, in collaboration with the competition’s medical director Dr. Brian Kitch. The goal is to present a true-to-life situation, often with an unexpected twist, that may resemble what they could encounter in a routine response. They are challenged to complete a rapid, but thorough assessment and appropriate treatment of patients on the spot.
The competition provides a training opportunity not only for the competitors, but for the hundreds of paramedics, emergency medical technicians and the medical directors who are closely observing each team's analysis and reaction to the scenario. Teams are judged on professionalism, communication, patient rapport, conduct, attitude, appearance and attire. The panel of judges is comprised of emergency medical services professionals from South Carolina.
The winning team is decided by the panel of judges and will be announced Tuesday night, May 2, at the Emergency Medical Services Expo awards banquet.
What: 31st annual North Carolina Paramedic Competition
When: Sunday, April 30, Noon-4 p.m.
Where: Joseph S. Koury Convention Center/Four Seasons Hotel. 3121 W Gate City Blvd., Greensboro, NC 27407
Media: Credentialed media are welcome but requested to stay outside the scenario perimeter and refrain from flash photography during the competition. The audience is prohibited from taking photographs or video during the competition.
Contact: Richard Gould, NCDHHS Office of Communications (w) 919-855-4840, (c) 828-381-2265 (for April 30)
The paramedics’ championship competition is co-sponsored by NCDHHS, the N.C. College of Emergency Physicians and participating community colleges. Through the Office of Emergency Medical Services, NCDHHS works to foster emergency medical systems, trauma systems and credentialed EMS personnel to improve responses to emergencies and disasters.